Determination of the Apical Sealing Abilities of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate, Portland Cement, and Bioaggregate After Irrigation with Different Solutions

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the sealing ability of root-end filling materials such as mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), Portland cement, and bioaggregate (BA) after irrigation with different solutions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined 130 human maxillar central teeth. After cutting the teeth at the cementoenamel junction, the root canals were expanded using nickel-titanium rotary instruments. Root canals were filled with AH-plus and gutta-percha. Then, the roots were cut apically, and 3 mm deep retrograde cavities were prepared. The roots were divided 12 experimental groups, consisting 10 teeth each; the positive and negative control groups contained five teeth each. The retrograde cavities were rinsed using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), chlorhexidine (CHX), BioPure(™) mixture of a tetracycline isomer, an acid, and a detergent (MTAD), or distilled water. Next, groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were sealed with MTA; groups 5, 6, 7, and 8 were sealed with Portland cement; and groups 9, 10, 11, and 12 were sealed with BA. Then, apical microleakage was evaluated by using a computerized fluid filtration method. The results of the leakage test were statistically evaluated by the post-hoc Tukey’s test. RESULTS: MTA, Portland cement, and BA root-end filling materials showed the least leakage in the CHX and distilled water groups. The highest leakage was observed in the EDTA and MTAD groups. CONCLUSIONS: The sealing ability of BA was as good as that of MTA. EDTA and MTAD increased the apical leakage and CHX and distilled water decreased the leakage of the root-end filling materials examined in this study.